UK publishes white paper outlining Brexit plans

By Muhammad Mussa  

LONDON

The government of Theresa May has published the long-awaited Brexit white paper that outlines the future relationship between the U.K. and the EU.  

The document, titled The Future Relationship Between The United Kingdom And The European Union, focuses on a “principled Brexit” with five key objectives that will govern a post-Brexit U.K.-EU relationship. 

The white paper also makes mention of an economic and a security partnership with the EU.  

The five key objectives focuses on the economy, the communities, the Union that makes up the U.K., democracy and the U.K.’s place in the world.  

For the economy, the document states that “developing a broad and deep economic relationship with the EU that maximises future prosperity in line with the modern Industrial Strategy and minimises disruption to trade between the UK and the EU, protecting jobs and livelihoods – at the same time making the most of trading opportunities around the world.” 

For the communities, the white paper makes it clear that the government will be “ending free movement and putting in place a new immigration system” as well as supporting the farming and fishing industries using the “Shared Prosperity Fund.”   

In securing the unity of the Union, the government will be “meeting commitments to Northern Ireland by protecting the peace process and avoiding a hard border” while ensuring the U.K.’s overseas territories also benefit from the Brexit deal, it said.  

The white paper said it will be leaving EU institutions, such as the European Courts of Justice, “ensuring the laws people live by are passed by those they elect and enforced by UK courts.”

The white paper stated that there will be “continued frictionless access at the border to each other’s markets for goods” and to deliver on this aim, the government has proposed the establishment of a free trade area for goods.

According to the plan, it said “this free trade area would protect the uniquely integrated supply chains and ‘just-in-time’ processes that have developed across the UK and the EU over the last 40 years” and it would avoid the need for customs and regulatory checks at the border.

“As a result, the free trade area for goods would see the U.K. and the EU meet their shared commitments to Northern Ireland and Ireland through the overall future relationship”.

The security partnership between the U.K. and the EU would see the continued sharing of data and information to protect both respective citizens and the U.K.’s participation in agencies such as Europol and coordination on issues such as defense and foreign policy, the white paper added.